Ant Group Revamps Alipay With AI Assistant in Escalated Battle Against WeChat
Ant Group Co. is preparing a sweeping overhaul of its Alipay super app, embedding an artificial intelligence agent that can perform tasks like booking rides, ordering coffee, or arranging takeout through voice or text commands. The update, still in internal testing, marks a significant escalation in the company’s long-running rivalry with Tencent Holdings Ltd.’s WeChat, which is also experimenting with a similar AI prototype.
The revamped interface, previewed in a video obtained by Bloomberg News, introduces an assistant named “Ah Bao” that users can ask to manage everyday errands. With user authorization, it can also handle financial tasks such as purchasing mutual funds, according to people familiar with the plans who asked not to be named because the details are private.
Ant’s decision to go all-in on an AI agent reflects a broader shift across the tech sector, where companies are racing to deploy tools that can autonomously complete multi-step tasks. Both Alipay and WeChat, each with more than a billion users, are already deeply embedded in Chinese consumers’ daily lives—handling everything from utility payments to travel bookings. The introduction of conversational AI within these platforms is widely seen as the next logical step in making super-apps even more indispensable.
Tencent, China’s most valuable company, has been aggressively rolling out AI features, including a recent spate of products leveraging the viral OpenClaw framework for homegrown agents. The new version of Alipay, which is only being tested internally for now, does not yet have a confirmed release date, the people said. An Ant Group representative declined to comment.
The rivalry extends beyond Ant and Tencent. ByteDance Ltd., operator of short-video giant Douyin, and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., which owns a one-third stake in Ant, are also pouring resources into AI to keep users locked into their ecosystems. The spending is taking a toll: Ant reported a 79% decline in profit in the final quarter of 2025 as it ramped up investment in AI ventures related to health care and large language models.
During the recent Lunar New Year holiday, Tencent, Alibaba, and ByteDance each spent billions of yuan in cash incentives to market their flagship AI chatbots. The launch of AI agents will further drive up operational costs, as these services require significantly more computing power than traditional features.
Ant has been pivoting heavily toward AI since its initial public offering was derailed in 2020 by Chinese regulators, who also imposed a cap on its lending business. Last year, the company unveiled its first humanoid robot, capable of offering medical advice and performing basic kitchen tasks. It is also developing a health-care app called AQ, which had reached 140 million users by September 2024.
The company’s valuation has dropped sharply from the peak of its planned IPO—a 2023 share repurchase proposal valued Ant at around $79 billion, down from $280 billion in late 2020. Separately, Ant International, its global arm, is considering raising about $1 billion to accelerate growth, a deal that could value the unit at $10 billion or more, people familiar with the matter said in early June.
The outcome of the AI agent race between Alipay and WeChat is likely to set a template for how super-apps around the world integrate autonomous assistants, analysts say. The company that executes better could gain a decisive edge in China’s fiercely competitive internet market.
— With assistance from Zheping Huang.
©2026 Bloomberg L.P.